2.11. Animal Procedures
ApoE-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice with a C57BL/6J genetic
background were provided by HFK Bioscience (Beijing, China). All mice
were raised under specific-pathogen-free (SPF)-conditions and had free
access to a standard purified mouse diet and water. All experiments were
conducted in accordance with the institutional guidelines of Harbin
Medical University. To observe the effect of CTRP9 on atherosclerosis in
mice, 6-week-old male ApoE-/- mice were randomly
divided into the following two groups: AAV-CTRP9 and AAV-control. The
adeno-associated vector expressing CTRP9 and the negative control were
synthesized by GenePharma (Shanghai GenePharma Co., Ltd., Shanghai,
China). To deliver AAV, the mice were administered
1011 vector genome copies of AAV-CTRP9 or AAV-control
via a single tail vein injection. Thereafter, the mice were fed a
Western diet (21% fat and 1.25% cholesterol; Research Diets D12108C,
New Brunswick, NJ, USA) for 8 weeks. After removing the adventitia and
endothelium, the media of the aortic wall homogenates were used for
western blotting. For histology, the aortic roots were embedded in OCT
compound or paraffin, and then stored at -80 ℃ or room temperature until
use.